COMMUNITY
Book Review : The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames : A Memoir
DR . MEGAN HODGKISS Hodgkiss Consulting , LLC Megan @ hodgkissconsulting . com
Justine Cowan didn ’ t intend to write a book about her mom . At least , not at first . The Atlanta attorney was planning on writing about her experiences litigating a case in rural Georgia . But the circumstances surrounding her mother ’ s upbringing was a mystery that needed to be solved .
As a child growing up in the Bay area , Justine and her mom had a strained relationship . Her mother was relentless with the after-school lessons and criticism , but not so generous with her comfort or affection . She held Justine to exacting standards . Why ? Maybe it was her own childhood ; Justine ’ s mother was polished and poised , and perhaps connected to the British aristocracy . Her mother ’ s carefully crafted persona began to splinter ; however , when young Justine came home to find her mom writing a name over and over : Dorothy Soames .
Years later , following the death of her mother , Justine began to dig into her family ’ s past .
She discovered , shockingly , that her mother did not grow up on an estate in England . Dorothy Soames was the name assigned to her as an infant at the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children .
The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames : A Memoir unravels the story of Dorothy ( whose real name is Eileen ) and her mother Lena , a young unwed woman who was forced by family and society to give up her infant . It details the years of physical and emotional abuse Dorothy faced at the Foundling Hospital , and how her resilience impacted her future relationships . The book also explores the history of the Foundling Hospital , an institution established in the 1700s to raise the children of unmarried mothers and prepare them for a life serving England ’ s ruling class . Many of the hospital ’ s guiding principals were shaped by Victorian notions of discipline and virtue .
As Justine presents her case to us through images , historic documents , and personal anecdotes , we learn about the Foundling Hospital and its influence on Western culture . Readers also learn how procedures established hundreds of years ago continue to affect families for generations . Author Justine Cowan graciously spoke with The Atlanta Lawyer team about her experiences writing this memoir .
Q : You take your readers on a very emotional journey . It ’ s exciting and insightful , but can also be frustrating and incredibly disheartening . What motivated you to want to revisit all of those experiences in writing this book ? A : When I first set out to write a book , it was not going to be about my mother ’ s life . It was going to be about litigating in rural Georgia , and the adventures of a woman litigating against large companies . It was going to be Praying for Sheetrock meets Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil . But then , as I
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